STYCO

STYCO, St. Louis Taiwanese Youth Chamber Orchestra, is an educational and not for profit group initiated by Dr. Jui-lin Ong and Dr. Tai Lin when they first started graduate study at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the evening when they stopped by my home in Chesterifeld, caming back to St. Louis from the Summer Conference of Taiwanese Americans of the Mid-Plain areas, in Springfield, Missouri, The three of us just finished a 6-month project of an orchestral performance at the conference with some not-quite-pleasant incidences. For the summer conference, we dreamed up a unique way of forming a one-time weekend chamber orchestra by composing our own music for the unknown music players to be called. We called the piece something like "A Suite of Taiwanese Music" with Ong writing the first movement of ancient Taiwan, I , the second movement of contemporary Taiwan, and Tai, the future Taiwan, While the ancient and the contemporary Taiwan incorporates existing melodies the future depends on new tunes. We had one common rule of thumb that everyone willing to play an instrument in the orchestra we will write a part for him or her. There were four violin parts with the fourth part playing open strings only.

I was surprised to meeting them at my home and we shared an un-prepared dinner together while they brought the idea of forming a Taiwanese Youth Chamber Orchestra on the table. Ong, being a violin virtuoso, will handle the training of the strings. Tai, being flautist of the Marching Band of the National Defense Department in Taiwan, would handle the wind instruments. They invited me to the the president and the conductor of the orchestra promising to teach me how to conduct. The principle reason for me to be involved playing the role of a president was because they were new to the community and they did not have the foundation nor the time to deal with the unknown human factors in the community. I accepted the challenge of playing the role of conductor but insisted that the organization, administration be handled by a volunteer, preferably someone who is a parent of the youth members of musicians.

The group started rehearsing shortly auditing in the fall. We rehearsed at the club house of the condominium where the president Joyce Chen has a home, preparing for the first public performance in the Mother's Day of 1990.

We prepared to play classical music for the first part of the recital and the Four Seasons of Formosa in the second part of the recital. This became the model in every recital. (15:36 2/23/2017)
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A playlist of STYCO recording in youtube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgY4PY6AQPzBr8EZKTaKdD4IDSiPHL1Qp
1990 http://tinyurl.com/STYCO-1-1990
1991
1992
1993

1. New World symphony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl7Jyt_epfc 
2. Chatting club https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDBYOvMfzOE&t=40s

1994

1. Octet by Mendelssohn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMpXz_4M4mU&index=3&list=PLgY4PY6AQPzBr8EZKTaKdD4IDSiPHL1Qp
2. Bāng lí chá kui https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJu0tGk3NLw&list=PLgY4PY6AQPzBr8EZKTaKdD4IDSiPHL1Qp&index=7
3. Bāng chhun-hong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkGSFFKaWvY&list=PLgY4PY6AQPzBr8EZKTaKdD4IDSiPHL1Qp&index=4B
4. 1994 Ú-iā hoe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHVU8GDP2X8&list=PLgY4PY6AQPzBr8EZKTaKdD4IDSiPHL1Qp&index=6
5. Móa soaⁿ chhun-sek https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUPXD8KsNnA&list=PLgY4PY6AQPzBr8EZKTaKdD4IDSiPHL1Qp&index=8
6. Iô gín-á koa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy-XNSi8ip0&index=5&list=PLgY4PY6AQPzBr8EZKTaKdD4IDSiPHL1Qp

1995 conducted by Paul Hahn

Now in 2017, a new direction to revive the STYCL, after resting for more than 10 years is to organize it, operate it, and functions in a different manner.

Instead of a a traditional fixed member ensemble one of the idea is to promote Taiwanese music by distributing sheet music world-wide to people with any background, encouraging people to enjoy Taiwanese music at home and open for any kind of proposition for public performances.

The major task include, but not be limited to, the followings:

1. Encourage people, both professionals and amateurs, to transcribe Taiwanese melodies into computer readable form, such as the Sibelius format. 
2. Support the beginning transcribers/re-arrangers with financing or loaned software and coaching.
3. Develop amateur music transcribes by supporting them with the music notation software to transcribe or re-arrange music for music learners at various skill levels.
4. Develop amateur music commentators/interpreters to write/talk about the collection of STYCO music.
5. Promote 3-hand piano arrangement involving one raw-hand to play with two seasoned hands, especially as a parent-child duo.
6. Promote mixing a Taiwanese tune with an existing world classic for promoting both and the mixture of culture as special value of immigrants' contribution.
7. Collect and describe the arrangements for various levels of skills.
8. Distribute STYCO collection through internet, downloadable with token cost, through website  like SMP Press - Sheet Music Plus https://smppress.sheetmusicplus.com/ 
9. Manage social media web site, such as facebook, to communicate with fans.
10. Keep tracks of fans, including music player and listeners.
11. Call for comments, recording, needs for re-arrangement, proposal for performances, for sharing in the social media,
12. Hold special parties for casual performances or formal recitals with one-time performers.
13. Hold special competition among re-arrangement or performances.
14. Raise and manage fund to support the related activities. (Maintain status of being a designated project of other non-profit funding organization, such as TAA-STL, whether STYCO becomes a 501(c)3 organization or not) 
15. Before the STYCO is re-organized the matters will be handled by Tony Su as a volunteer of the Gardeners of Hope Foundation.
     

The revival is initiated by Tony Su as a volunteer of the Gardeners of Hope Foundation http://tinyurl.com/grohblog
This page started at 17:29 2/23/2017, St. Louis, Mo. Central Time of US and Canada